The Hedgehog's Dilemma
by Deedsu
Summary: On the rainy day before the R&J play, Mahiru and Sumireko meet in the school's library by coincidence. They find that even under the most unfavorable circumstances such as theirs and even when they apparently know so little about the other... their feelings can connect. The rain is said to connect the eternally separated earth and sky, surely it could connect two lonely hearts.


**A/N: **Well, well, well. To be honest, I can't believe I managed to finish writing a fanfic. Over the years, there were several times when I tried writing for some of my otps but I always kinda lost interest in the story I was writing halfway through and so never really got around to wrapping it up. Patience is not my strong suit either so... yeah. Anyway. I find my writing style to be a little unpolished every here and there, I am still kinda proud of it. Wow, go me! +1 self-esteem. Also, I hope fellow Banba/Sumireko shippers enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it ;)

* * *

"Ara~ Banba-san! What a pleasant coincidence," Sumireko greeted, with the gentlest of smiles. "Mind if I sit here as well?"

Mahiru gave a quick nod of approval as she tightened her grip on the book and brought it closer to her face to hide her blush. Sumireko sat down across from her and looked out the window. Her pose was, as per usual, elegant and ladylike – just as it would be expected of an _ojousama_.

"Are you a reader, Banba-san?" she asked, quietly. Mahiru wouldn't necessarily call herself that, but she did enjoy reading every once in a while. Books about symbolic interpretations, mostly. That's how her fascination for 'relics' spawned, after all. Though she realized Sumireko must have thought she was reading _Romeo & Juliet_, judging by the cover. In truth, it was only a book about the costumes used in the play. But she figured Hanabusa might have noticed that much by now.

"I'm not much of a reader myself," Sumireko admited, with a smile. "It's more like, I like to quietly wander around, among the bookshelves; an ambundance of fictional realities. I think of how each one of these books could potentially turn into temporary worlds to escape to. And so… I look at covers, at titles… something like trailing your finger across points on a map, and you mark with your mind all these wonderful destinations you could escape to. You could go, you could. It's what you tell yourself. …But you can't, not really." She paused for a moment and closed her eyes for a few brief seconds, like she was trying to let the very essence of her words sink in and take her all the way back into the depths of a memory.

Banba didn't look her in the eyes, but Sumireko could tell she was hanging on her every word, so she continued. "I did this a lot as a child, too, you see. I imagined people reading books… but, not me. I did not. All I could think was… '_It hurts. What's the use? It hurts. Every book is the illusion of a new beginning, only to find out that you are still the prisoner of your own fate, in the end... there's no escape…_"

Her words like scattered cherry blossom petals; hanging weightless in the air… she smiled like she was about to collapse. And whenever Sumireko would smile like that… whenever she had that sad look in her eyes… somehow, it filled Banba's heart with unease. And it was in moments like this, when Sumireko had a way of speaking that made it seem as if she was standing on the very edge of a cliff that the more Mahiru focused on her image, the more Sumireko appeared to be… the loneliest of them all. A frail presence in an empty room. With an insiatable longing to color a void reflected on her delicate features.

Like a bird that's been in her cage for the longest time and though she might be seeking her freedom... at the end of the day, the cage was all she knew.

"Ara~ It looks like it's going to rain_._" Banba snapped out of her thoughts and followed Sumireko's gaze, out the window. A thick blanket of clouds slowly desolated the blue of the sky and the wind was starting to pick up. It really looked like it'll start raining before long.

Sumireko started to get up.

"Perhaps it'd be better for us to return to our room. Don't you think, Banba-san?"

* * *

It started to rain shortly after they made it to their room. At first it was a soft symphonic drizzle but it gradually turned heavier and heavier. The perpetual pattering of water droplets hitting the window was now the only sound to intrude upon the confortable silence stretched between the two girls, as they sat across from one another at the table and enjoyed a cup of tea.

It was one of the rare occasions when Mahiru accepted Hanabusa's invitation for tea. It wasn't like Mahiru didn't always want to, but sometimes… she had all these thoughts, and words wouldn't follow. And once she misses the opportunity to say something, she panics. The words become increasingly toxic as they circle their way around her mind and weigh on her; they become something like an anchor around her neck. _Suffocating…_ So she steps back into the confort of her own solitude. Again and again she steps back… and again and again, Sumireko cautiously follows.

Sumireko was always trying hard to get closer to Mahiru. Despite it all, she always stuck around. _Always yearning for them to be friends… _And truth be told, Mahiru was also very curious about the girl. Her thoughts would often gravitate towards Sumireko. And she'd often find herself stealing glances at the girl. Little by little, Mahiru started noticing all these little details. Sometimes… it was all in the details.

Like how, one way or another, Sumireko always seemed to be smiling. Such an incredibly alluring serenity reflected in her eyes. But then other times, her eyes would flicker with riddles Banba just couldn't fathom. Surely, just like the rest of them, she had her secrets and a plan. They were all assasins, after all. Sumireko might even be deliberately waiting it out, Banba thought. Waiting to be the last to go. And if that's true…

… _If she can afford to do that… just what did she wish for, I wonder?_

A sudden clap of thunder. Mahiru shattered the cup she held with both her hands. She suddenly got up. Sumireko did too. "Banba-san! What is it, are you alright?" Mahiru didn't say a word. She looked down at the porclain pieces of the cup and the spilled tea.

"U-uh t-the cup…_ " _It was all a mess now, she thought. And she was even bleeding a little but… but… she broke Sumireko's cup…

"I… I… I-M SORRY!" She bowed several times and whispered apologies were coming in a rush. She struggled to calm herself down but it was no use.

"Ah, don't you worry about that, Banba-san. It is no matter._" _Sumireko's voice held absolutely no blame or malice. But as soon as she noticed blood dripping from one of Mahiru's clenched fists as she kept them glued to her side, Sumireko instantly, almost instinctively, rushed to her side.

"Did you hurt yourself, Banba-san?" There was genuine concern dripping from every word, "May I see…?"

"Banba-san…" She insisted. Though she hesitated in getting too close when she saw how shaken up Mahiru was. It looked as if she was choking up on guilt, and suddenly Hanabusa understood. She needed a breath of relief. Sumireko offered her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, Banba-san," she said. "Really, it's alright. It was just a cup. It was of no importance."

Mahiru was visibly starting to calm down, her worries finally settling down.

"Um… why don't you go sit there," Hanabusa motioned towards the nearest bed.

"Surely there must be a first aid kit in the bathroom, I'll go look."

She returned shortly and sat down next to Mahiru. She poured a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad and inspected Mahiru's left palm.

"It's only a small cut. It shouldn't hurt much, but it'll sting a little," she said. Then she gently pressed it onto the cut. She intently watched Mahiru's face for signs of any form of physical pain but the girl didn't even blink. _Ah,_ _of course._ _We're assasins, after all,_ Hanabusa reminded herself. What was she thinking? Warning an assassin of the mere sting of a cut? Hanabusa amuses herself sometimes, really.

"Almost done," she said as she put away the cotton pad and took out a band-aid out of the box. She then took Mahiru's hand again and put on the band-aid. She pressed on it a few times, then she intentionally let her fingertips linger upon Mahiru's palm just a little longer. Sumireko noticed how Mahiru would flush and flinchat every sudden touch of skin rather than the sting. _How cute… _Hanabusa thought. And it made her chuckle a little.

"U-um…," Mahiru immediately panicked, out of embarrassment. "W-w-what… what is it? I-is it m-me… ?"

She frantically seeked to wipe down inexistent dirty spots from her face.

"No, no. It's fine, it's not that. I just thought that Banba-san sometimes reminds me of a cute little hedgehog, that's all." She chuckled again.

"E-ehh? A hedge… hog? …"

"Mmh, that's right," she said. In that moment, as she said those words, Sumireko looked at Mahiru with such tender adoration that Mahiru was hopelessly tripping over her own thoughts in a rush of heated emotions. Mahiru noticed how in the dim light of the room, Sumireko's eyes flickered even brighter; they reminded her of the blue of forget-me-nots. A few strands of loose hair fell across Sumireko's face as she leaned closer and closer. She brushed them away, gracefully, tucking them behind her ear. They were so close now, Mahiru noticed.

… An intoxicating proximity. It was impossible to look away.

Sumireko cupped her face with both her hands then. Her fingertips were a little cold and Mahiru could still smell traces of rubbing alcohol on her hands. It didn't matter. She heard Sumireko whisper her name, and Mahiru closed her eyes. There was another sudden clap of thunder outside but the hammering beating in her chest was by far louder. She was trembling all over. Her face was burning red. Even the tip of her ears were tinted with a delicate shade of crimson. _How cute… _Sumireko thought. _It might just be the cutest thing in the world…_

Mahiru felt warm lips gently pressed just above her left eyelid, in a tiny kiss. Simple and affectionate; it flamed her every cell. Sumireko was tracing her scar with delicate, peppered kisses. Starting from the forehead, to her cheek, then her chin and just a little on the jawline. First kiss, then another, and another and it stopped at six; Mahiru counted. Her palms were all sweaty as she kept them clenched, close to her chest; shivers of anticipation down her spine. She didn't dare open her eyes, not even for a second. But she could tell Sumireko was hesitating now; maybe she was a little unsure of what to do next?

_W-ait…c-could it be that…this was Hanabusa-san's f-first k-ki-kiss, too?_

She couldn't bring herself to touch Sumireko in any way, to make any sudden first move. She couldn't do it, it was too much, she couldn't possibly do it. Instead, she screwed her eyes shut and kept them that way as she timidly leaned just a little bit forward. She puckered her trembling lips and waited. _Hanabusa-san is… Hanabusa-san is about to…_

She could feel the other girl's breath upon her lips now. Before she could grasp any more thoughts, she could taste again that berry tea they were having earlier. The kiss was chaste and tender. Overwhelmingly warm and honey-sweet. Sumireko was now firmly holding onto Mahiru's shoulders as she clumsly and somewhat awkwardly maintained the contact for brief seconds; still it was over all too soon.

Both half-opened their eyes at the same time when they could no longer feel the other, and blushed. Their hearts were pounding miles a minute, and it wasn't hard for them to imagine it to be the only sound echoing in the silence of the room. They stood in that moment, just like that, for a little while.

It was Hanabusa who spoke first, almost in a whisper.

"Say, Banba-san… I hope it wasn't too bad… It… it was my first…"

"N-no! T-that—i-it wasn't b-ba—m-mine too!... I mean…" She stopped and breathed a few times to steady her voice before she could continue.

"I-it was mine too… my first k-kiss…"

"_Oh,_" Sumireko's whole face lit up and she clasped her hands together. "Then, all the more, I hope you found it to be enjoyable!"

"… I-it… it was..." And in that moment, Mahiru smiled so sweetly that Sumireko's heart just melted a little.

* * *

**A/N**: I might write something for Shin'ya/Sumireko too; no promises though alright? ;)


End file.
